Alright guys, happy/fluff chapter that I promised! I was just accepted into graduate school in Japan, so I've been getting my happy excitement out with writing. YAY for being constructive!

Fluff is harder to write than angst..so sorry this took a little long to get out, I wanted it to be well written! Prepare for tooth-rotting sweetness...

Dean awoke to the smell of pancakes combined with the strong smell of Castiel. Both made his mouth water, but only the food made his stomach growl in response. He groaned, not wanting to leave the warm cocoon he was in wrapped around Cas but desperately needed to eat. He pulled tighter into the mess of limbs they'd formed, kneeing into Cas's thigh on accident.

"Ow...be careful Dean," Cas mumbled. He'd apparently let himself doze off into a light sleep.

"Ugh, I feel so gross. Seriously, could you not have undressed us even a little bit?" He was feeling the tacky pull of his clothes now as he came awake. They'd been sweating in their sleep, overheating under all their layers.

"You seemed happy and I was comfortably warm when I fell asleep, but I agree, this is not pleasant," he grumbled, snapping his fingers to clean them both off.

"Abusing your powers now Cas? What's gotten into you?" Dean gave a nip and kiss to Cas's neck as he hopped out of bed.

"I find myself not caring what the higher ups think, they've all shown disregard for what I love so I'm going to do what I want."

"Woah there, try and control yourself, don't want you being too much of a rebel," Dean said with a smirk from where he was fixing his hair in the mirror. It was a pointless action, his hair ended up pushed around after Cas used a tug of Grace to drag him back into the bed for some heated distraction.

They were cooling back down and had almost fallen back asleep when Sam's voice came booming through the house announcing breakfast. Dean once again hauled himself out of bed to fix his hair, pulling the angel along with him. If Sam was making breakfast he didn't want to miss it.

Bobby was drinking coffee and reading a newspaper when they came into the kitchen. Sam had his back to them at the stove, a pile of steaming pancakes stacked up next to him. Dean went to get them coffee, black for himself and lightly creamed for Cas.

"Thought you two were going to sleep all day," Bobby said, eying Dean over his paper.

"Funny thing about having shit you don't want to talk about unceremoniously shoved into your face, makes you tired and cranky." Dean came over and sat next to Cas. "But fortunately someone is good at smoothing that all over, right Cas?"

Castiel just sipped his coffee, staying out of their way and studying the table.

Sam came over with the pancakes and a plate of eggs, nervous smile in place, "You know why we did it Dean, and you were fine. Let's just eat and try to move past it."

"You don't have to tell me twice. And I'm fine, really. Getting it out was...I don't know, therapeutic or something. Now give me some of that...Sam." Dean was glaring daggers at his brother.

Sam shrunk down, "Yea?"

"Where the hell is the bacon? You make breakfast so I'll forgive you then you don't have bacon?"

"Seriously Dean?" Sam sighed. "The little store up the road didn't have any, so just eggs this time."

"I think you can manage princess," Bobby chimed in.

"Manage? What is wrong with the two of you? Breakfast is sacred, you can't just leave out the most important part!"

They continued arguing about the necessary parts of 'American' breakfast, and no one noticed when Cas slipped away. Dean did notice when he returned however, as he was bearing a plate full of bacon.

"Here. I believe that this should be enough to correct the situation." He set it down in front of them all, and then went back to drinking his coffee.

"Did you just use your angel mojo to get us bacon?" Dean asked. The three stared at Cas in wonder. He'd always loved his angel, but this was certainly the icing on the cake. Almost 'put a ring on it' worthy.

"Yes well, it's from the diner in Kentucky you said had 'heavenly' bacon. And don't worry, I was sure to compensate them."

Dean could hardly hold a straight face. "With what exactly? I don't remember you carrying around a wallet."

"They were having trouble with vampires this winter, so I gave them a large amount of garlic." Cas said in his usual monotone. The hunter's eyes got wider, Bobby choked on nothing trying to cover his laughter. Cas smirked a little.

"You're joking, aren't you?" Bobby asked, speaking for all of them.

"Yes of course Robert. I actually just healed the waitresses flu, nothing too exciting." He reached forward to grab a piece of bacon, munching on it contemplatively, "But apparently it was worth this food. Which is spectacular by the way."

They couldn't hold in their laughter anymore, just the thought of Cas showing up in a random diner, performing a miracle, and asking to be paid in bacon had Sam rolling off his chair to the floor and Dean unable to make sound.

Castiel seemed very pleased with himself throughout the rest of the day.

And a long day it was. They had no idea when Zachariah would show back up for Dean, he'd given no time frame, so they stayed close to the house and kept occupied. Sam and Bobby found a Civil War marathon to watch on the History channel, debating back and forth over their beers. Castiel tried to join in, but Sam was being very pushy about whether he had been present during this particular war. He left to go find Dean as soon as possible.

He found him in the garage under the hood of the Impala. He'd brought in a heater so he could comfortably work, and it had brought a flush of red into his cheeks.

"Hey Cas," those green eyes fixed on him, "You've come to the wrong place if you're looking for entertainment. Bet Sam's got something good on TV if you want to go watch." He turned back to unscrewing something in the engine.

"He's watching documentaries on the Civil War. I tried to watch, but he kept asking me about it. And it's not a war I would enjoy discussing. Brother against brother, hits a little too close to home." Cas hopped up onto the work bench to observe Dean.

He'd forgone the trench coat today, instead wearing an old t-shirt of Dean's from a Foreigner concert and one of Sam's sweatshirts. Cas watched while Dean tinkered around in the engine for a while, swinging his legs from his perch.

"Dean, what is it that you're doing?" His curiosity got the better of him.

"Changing the oil, figured she could use it and I've got the time now. Wanna come help me?" He brushed some sweat off his forehead, effectively smearing grease and oil on himself. It made him look more rugged rather than dirty, and Cas couldn't resist getting a little closer to that.

Cas hopped down and came to watch closely while Dean explained how he'd drained the old oil and was removing the dirty filter. Then he got the new one out and prepared it to go back into place.

Cas loved watching Dean work with his hands, grease smeared up almost to his elbows. There was something about seeing his man who held so much power, both implied and literal, doing something delicate and menial. Maybe it was just his feelings for the man, but he knew what those strong hands could do. They could roughly push him into a wall, gently cup his cheek, and firmly stroke his...damn it.

He'd gotten carried away watching and thinking. What had started out as wanting to learn had changed to shamelessly 'eye fucking', as Dean would call it. He shifted a bit, hoping the sweatpants he had on would hide his interest, but unfortunately they weren't as restricting as his dress pants and did nothing to hide the bit of an erection he was getting.

Dean had now begun filling up the car with new oil, pouring it in slowly. A little bit of it escaped the nozzle and slowly dripped down his hand in a thick glob. Not helping.

Cas coughed a bit, trying to hide how flustered he was getting. But that drew Dean's attention more than staying still would have, and he knew what those slightly dilated pupils and blush meant. With an easy smile he gave a nudge with his elbow, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"I know that look," Dean grinned, leaning over to give Cas a quick but deep kiss, "Let me finish up then you can have your fun babe."

It didn't take him long to get the oil filled and screwed back together. Then with a burst of Grace, like Cas had recently taught him, cleaned himself off. Cas whined at that though, looking thoroughly disappointed, "But Dean I liked you all dirtied up."

"You're usually a bit of a clean freak, even give Sam a run for his money!"

"Well...I think I must buy into the feminine enjoyment of a good man stained up from hard work," Cas reached down to run his hand through the pan of used oil. Then with a completely straight face dragged his fingers through Dean's hair and over his jaw.

"O so that's how you're gonna play? Two can play at this game," Dean said with a devilish grin.

The ensuing wrestle match to get each other filthy with grease, oil, and dirt was a bizarre combination of overly powerful Grace bouts and fierce making out. They giggled and groaned, letting the past few days go and enjoying their time once again. Dean would feel guilty about it if he weren't so blown away by the head he was getting while pushed up onto the hood of his car. Whole world could burn from underneath him for all he cared as long as this never stopped.

As it would happen they had many days to sit about on edge waiting for the ball to drop. It was an odd feeling for the Winchesters, being trapped in one place waiting. They were so used to running headlong into the thick of trouble that sitting patiently was not in their blood. Bobby was able to entertain himself by taking calls from other hunters, doing what research he could from the books he'd brought and on Sam's computer. Sam tried to help for a bit, but they ended up snapping at each other. He ended up sitting with Dean watching TV, debating about the various shows and trying to relax.

Castiel was the calmest of the group. His centuries of practice with patience allowed him to distract himself easily. Staying close to the house he got his camera out again. Photography had gone by the wayside during all of the dramatics, and with nothing left but waiting it was a good time to start up again.

The winter had brought huge amounts of snow into the woods in Maine where the safe house was located. It was one of Castiel's favorite things, an he was pleased to find that snow was a common theme in the haiku's of his books. With his Grace he could push away the cold from himself, but generally chose not to, he loved the way the wind would bite at him. And coming in cold had its perks...Dean would draw him under blankets where they'd tangle up their legs, and once he'd even made him some hot chocolate.

For days the snow drifts around the house were his playground, the warmth of Dean his home, and with camera in hand he recorded it all.

He captured a rather intense snow ball fight between the Winchester boys, and the scowl Bobby gave them when he got caught in the middle. Snow had flown about and their laughs were what Cas imagined they'd sounded like as children. He recorded animal tracks in the snow, following them as far as he could. One particular rabbit allowed him to get close, and the picture seemed alive with the way it's nose had been working. There were several photos of Dean and Sam by the stove, making soup or grilled cheese for them all, steam curling around them. Even one of Bobby huddled over stacks of books with a mug of Irish Coffee, which Dean assured him had nothing to do with the source of the coffee beans.

But his favorite shot from those days was when he stumbled back upon his box of feathers, inspiration taking hold and kicking up his heart in excitement.

He flew back into the house with his box held firmly, appearing right in front of Dean who was watching a show with Sam. The two hunters startled at his appearance, instantly going on alert at how emotional he seemed.

"Cas? What's wrong, is it Zachariah?" Dean got up, reaching for the knife in his pocket.

"Dean I need to see your wings right now, it's important."

"We'll start looki-...wait what? Why?" Dean looked confused, and glanced at Sam who had the same dumbfounded look and had his gun halfway out the back of his jeans.

"Dean. Please, hurry up, I just had the best idea and I need you to get your wings out for it." Cas was too excited to hold himself back and bounced lightly on his feet. Dean didn't seem to get it, so he tried a pleading look like Sam used to get his way. That didn't seem to work either.

"Cas, what the hell. You can't just storm in here and...I don't know, show emotion and just...what the hell?"

Cas sighed, getting slightly annoyed now. "I'm excited Dean. Now will you help me or not?"

"I'll just...if you guys needs a minute to...yea I'll go," Sam snuck off, clearly not wanting to intrude on whatever was going on, be it good or bad.

Dean grabbed Cas by the arm, hauling him off towards their room. He didn't seem too upset, just confused, but Cas couldn't be sure. It wasn't like he'd asked an impossible request.

Once in the safety of their room Dean rounded on him, arms crossed, "So what's this about Cas, you're not usually this flustered."

"Well I just realized, you have wings now, and I have my collection, and I need a picture of one of your feathers," Cas said quickly, he'd let his excitement get the best of him, an odd but not unpleasant feeling.

Dean cracked a half smile that turned into a laugh as he pulled Cas forward for a hug and kiss. "Scared me half to death Cas, thought you were coming to tell us we were being attacked!"

"No Dean, if that were the case I would not have been excited."

"You looked terrified, not happy."

"Well..I was aiming for a good kind of anxious. I don't display feelings like this often, but I need that picture." Cas pulled away from Dean and gave quick expectant glances toward the space his wings would be.

"You are both the most patient and impatient thing I've ever seen Cas," Dean said chuckling softly, "Just give me a second."

Dean closed his eyes in concentration while Cas continued to behave in his interpretation of 'excited'. There was a small rustling sound the second before Dean's wings came to, fanning out in the room. Without wasting a moment to admire them as he usually did Cas reached forward and plucked off a large feather.

"Ow! Warn a guy next time!" Dean's wing pulled back in pain. He still seemed amused, though Cas wasn't looking at his face to see anymore. He'd retreated over towards the window where the winter morning light was coming in, feather held reverently before him.

The house was what Dean would call old fashioned. Built in the early 1900s from good solid wood, no upgrades or remodeling since. Hunters had sheltered here for generations, paying no attention to the cosmetic needs of the house. Castiel loved the slight disrepair that caused, especially on the windowsill of this bedroom. The paint had peeled up years ago, leaving a heavily grained board. And the way the morning sunlight came in it softened the rough textures.

He laid the feather out on the sill, careful to make sure the slightly blue tip was in the light properly, then began changing setting on his camera. Dean had come up behind him and put his chin on Castiel's shoulder to watch.

Cas got the settings right for the shallow depth of field he wanted then shrugged off Dean so he could bend down to the right level for the shot he wanted. He heard Dean flop down onto the bed behind him while he clicked away.

"We could probably spend eternity together and I'd never figure you out, right Cas?"

Snap, a little too dark. "I am far simpler than you seem to think Dean." Snap, still too dark but better. "But yes, you would struggle with it."

"Ok then let's start simple. What's your favorite food?"

"You know I don't require food Dean," Snap, perfect, now for the next one.

"O come on Cas, you love the way it tastes, just humor me. What taste do you like?"

Cas had gone over to his picture box and was rummaging around in it, but he paused and looked up at Dean, thinking for a moment before answering, "Your skin after your release, particularly on your neck right under your jaw. It tastes like sweat and sin, but it's still so blindly pure and beautiful."

They looked at each other in silence for a moment before Cas went back to looking in his box. "See Cas, this is what I mean. I just wanted to know if you liked cheery pie or lo mein. Instead I get poetic ranting about how much you enjoy licking me."

Cas didn't respond to that, but had found what he was looking for and went back over to the window.

"Not that I don't enjoy hearing it, it is weirdly hot. It's just that...are you even listening to me?" Dean propped himself up on one elbow to get a good look at Cas. Who was apparently not listening. Dean huffed, but smiled, not really upset at Cas being too absorbed to pay him attention. He started to get up, "What's got you so focused over there Cas?"

"No!" Cas turned on Dean, flinging his arms out to keep him from seeing. "It's a surprise..."

"Ok ok, I'll wait. Is my help finished? I can leave you to it."

"Yes, I have all I needed from you, thank you." Cas turned back to his work, making sure to shield it from Dean's view. With a silent chuckle Dean fluttered back to his spot in front of the TV with Sam, they resumed their show, letting the angel work.

It was a little less than an hour later that Cas flitted into the living room, grabbing Sam by the shoulder. "I need your brother now." Then he immediately took them off upstairs into Sam's room.

With no time to prepare Sam seemed mildly shaken, but recovered quicker than Dean would have. "What's this about Cas?"

"You can print pictures with your printer, correct?"

"Well yea but it's not going to be great quality. Why, did you get some you wanted? Might be better to wait til we can actually leave to go to a store." Sam had gone to get his computer from the charger, holding his hand out for the memory card from Cas. That was one thing Castiel appreciated about the younger Winchester, he didn't get flustered and demand to know everything like Dean did. Though, that was also part of Dean's charm.

"I can just print them again later, but right now there are a few I would like. It's a surprise for Dean."

They sat on the edge of the bed while Sam uploaded all of the pictures. When Cas pointed out the three he wanted printed Sam chuckled a little. "More feather pictures? I thought you'd want those in good quality for your project."

"I will, but I want to show this one to Dean. It's his after all."

Sam's eyebrows shot up at that and he expanded one of the pictures Cas had taken earlier. The single feather was an odd combination of features, soft and downy at the base but the edges hardened into a strong line past the first inch. The creamy white clashed with a few streaks of brown and black, and the tip had a splash of deep blue. "So that's what you were talking about earlier. You know, I would have expected Dean's to look...I don't know, different? The other day when Bobby and I saw his wings for that second it didn't really register. Still kinda weird to have him all angel'd up."

"He's beginning to see the beauty in them, and I wanted to show him how I see it. But yes I agree, I doubt you would have expected his soul to manifest this way, however from my perspective it is a good representation."

Sam gave the same silent chuckle Dean always did, giving Cas an appraising look. "I've never said it, but you're good for him. I'm glad you two are...whatever you are."

"Thank you Sam. It means a lot to have your blessing on this."

Cas waited patiently while Sam printed out the pictures he wanted then went back downstairs to arrange them in his and Dean's room. He was glad that Sam approved of this relationship, though the opinion of others mattered less to him than it did to Dean. When it came to life decisions Dean rarely did anything that would upset the family, at least in his own mind, and having his brother back this up was important to him.

There was so much hurt in the man, not just from this current run in with the supernatural, but from years of a confusing family and love life. Castiel suspected that what he and Dean were building now was helping to chase away those scars, and getting everyone on board with it would help the rest that he couldn't heal.

Satisfied with the arrangement of the pictures he left to go join Sam and Dean in watching their show. He could surprise Dean soon, and had learned to enjoy the human emotion of anticipation. The war show they were watching did little to hold his interest. Though he was curious as to how people could war over storage, there seemed to be endless ways in which man would fight amongst themselves.

As it wrapped up he glanced nervously over at Dean. For as tense as the situation was waiting for Zachariah to show up the hunter seemed awfully relaxed. His smile came easy and he didn't seem to be forcing his emotions. "Come on Dean, I have something I want to show you." Cas grabbed Dean's hand and pulled him off the couch. With an apologetic look to Sam he followed.

"Ok Cas, so what's up? Been dragging people all over the house a lot today haven't you," Dean said once they got in the room.

"Yes well...Do you notice anything new?"

Dean gave him a once over, apparently assuming that Cas had changed something about himself. With a small smile and roll of his eyes he gestured around the room. Dean looked around, still confused, until he caught sight of the pictures.

Cas had put them up on the wall above the headboard; the picture of his feather on his side, the picture of Dean's on his, and in the middle was a picture of both together.

With a breathy laugh Dean clamored over onto the bed, kneeling on the pillow to get a good look at them. They weren't the best quality, which Castiel promised himself to correct as soon as they could, but he was no less proud of them. Especially the middle one, the feathers laid out on each other, black and white contrasting perfectly with the wood grain beneath.

"So that's why you were being all secretive! I love it Cas, where'd you get the idea?" Dean asked as he carefully studied the pictures. Cas climbed up behind him and wrapped his arms around Dean's waist, head buried in the crook of his neck.

"It's a dichotomy, many artists use them in their work to explore topics. It was a theme idea in the book Sam had me read when I was first learning to use my camera. You take two pieces of a whole and show the similarities and differences. The idea is...beautiful, and older than art itself. I was there when God set pieces of the world separate like this. Air and sea, life and death, light and dark."

He gave a nuzzle into Dean's hairline.

"I have other examples that I've done a study like this on, you and Sam for instance, but I'd been wanting something of us. This gave me the perfect way to show how different we are but how perfectly one and similar we are as well. And show you just how beautiful you are despite what has happened." He punctuated his last sentence with a nip at Dean's ear.

Dean leaned back into him, arms wrapping around Cas's, and let his head drop back. "You know you're pretty sexy when you talk art Cas."

"Mmm like you know how I am when it comes to sex."

"Please, just because we haven't rounded every base doesn't mean I don't know how you-" Cas cut him off with another bite at his ear, and was rewarded with a small whimper.

"I'd like to. I know I've held out on this last thing, but I think I'm ready now Dean."

Dean's head whipped around at that and he stiffened. "Really? Like, now now?"

"Hmm...how about we wait until after you hand Zachariah's ass to him? Give you something to fight for," he smirked down at Dean's wide eyed eager look.

"Sounds like a plan to me. But in the mean time..." Dean relaxed back into Cas, rolling his hips back a little.

Cas gave a small gasp at the pressure and gave in to Dean's silent question. He really had been wanting to give everything over, and he didn't feel too bad at using sex as a reward to get Dean to fight for them.

They tumbled down onto the bed, awkwardly getting limbs caught and giggling. Who knew when Zachariah would arrive again? They could have hours or weeks to wait. And as far as ways to wait went, this was certainly Castiel's favorite.

I have the picture Cas took as the cover picture for this fic! I'm not sure if it shows up right...but it's there!

Phew, finally! That was longer than I'd planned hah I'd had a busy last week with grad school stuff, book signings, concerts, etc. Glad to finally get this posted and move on with the story! Get ready for some action next time :D